The Archwizard handed Danny a cup of tea saying, "Here, drink this Danny it will help you feel better,"

Taking the cup form his hands, Danny sat in a chair at the small table in the Archwizard’s office. He stared into the contents of the cup as if they would give him the answers he needs.

The Archwizard squatted down next to Danny's chair and asked, "Danny, look at me. Out there in the glade, were you using mana manipulation?"

Danny looked up at the man with wide eyes. He paused briefly before slowly nodding.

The old man took a deep breath and said, "What level is yours at?"

"Seven," Danny said reluctantly.

The Archwizard actually fell backwards onto his rear, and thought for a minute before asking, "You’re a sorcerer... Is that how you beat the exams?"

"No, I only used spells because I was concerned about... being found out," Danny said dejectedly.

A confused look crossed the Archwizard’s face, "Why were you scared about us knowing?"

Danny looked up at him, "No one could do what I can do. Everyone uses spells. Your mana lines are ripped open with those ancient keys, and your maximum mana regeneration and flow rates are set. The mana moves through your bodies inconsistently and mana is stored the same way.

I, on the other hand, unlocked my own mana. My mana moves consistently through my body. My mana is stored consistently through my body. As far as I can tell, my mana regeneration and flow rates are increasing steadily as I use more magic. I was scared what you would... are going to do, now that you know I hold these secrets..."

The Archwizard spoke softly saying, "Danny we have known about how sorcerers unlocked their mana since the beginning. Decades of meditation and self-reflection, trying to sense the mana in our bodies. Danny the ones that succeeded were old men and women by the time they were able to unlock their mana. These ancient keys were discovered and gave us the edge we needed to survive.

Every now and then a sorcerer is born, like yourself. The last one was over one hundred years ago. The records state that when he was three he must have had become upset and buried his family alive. At first no one understood what had happened, when all that remained was a flat piece of land and the little boy. Then the boy started riding around on the earth like it was a horse. Before anyone could stop him he lost control of his magic and crashed into the side of a building, dead. The fact that you have survived this long, and stayed hidden, is nothing short of amazing! Especially since your family has been under random surveillance since your birth."

Danny wanted to tell the wizard everything, but if his mother would die for what happened before his birth... He was certain now that they were connected.

Danny looked over at the two women sitting calmly at the table before looking into the Archwizard’s eyes and said, "Storm, what is the Diadem government going to want from me now that they know I exist?"

The Archwizard took on a pensive look before sighing, "Danny, I am part of Diadem, just as you are. They are going to want you strong, just like they want me strong. Why? So that when the next problem arises, we can stand with them to face it."

Danny nodded, seeing the words between words. He was to become a weapon, or a shield.

"Alright, where do we go from here," Danny asked.

The Archwizard got back up and sat in his chair grabbing his cup of tea, to take a sip, "We are going to get you some real world experience. The best way to do that is with an experienced wizard in the field. We also need to find someone who we can trust. Fortunately you have presented us with the perfect alibi. Wizard Basalt is one of us. We work directly for Diadem in a less... publicly known capacity."

Realization dawned on Danny's face, he interrupted, "In other words your Diadem's secret intelligence agency. Sworn to protect the country. They will deny all knowledge of your existence if caught. That sort of thing, right?

"No... Well, actually, yes, exactly like that. Where did you get that information, Danny?"

Danny had difficulty replying with a mouth full of cookie, "Oh, ith's part of the dom't ask dom't die fing."

"Oh yes, well, sounds like you don't need much of an explanation of the risks involved. Makes things easier... This is a lifetime position. Once you join, and you ever choose to leave without approval, you will be hunted down and your family held in close observation until your termination. As head of our wizards, you will be reportable to me. You being a sorcerer will have to be kept as a secret to the public. You will still be called Wizard Creek. You will come with us to our training facility, where you will be paired with a Trio. We can't have more oddities popping up around your training areas. Also, I would rather you learn to use your mana manipulation affectively, than stay here and potentially stunt your growth. The Trio you will be paired with has been trained from the age of seven to be part of our order. We have never had a wizard begin training with us this early, as we seek out potential recruits from promising adepts with three or more affinities. Being as you are a sorcerer, you are a special case. You will train with the assigned Trio until you are ready to assist Wizard Basalt. Without hindering his work, of course."

Danny waited for the pause in the Archwizard’s explanation to ask, "What do you mean by "paired" with a Trio? What kind of work will I be taking on?"

"Oh, for all intents and purposes, you will be contractually bound to this Trio. As for work, it is probably as you expect. Highly dangerous, or of a very sensitive nature. To be more specific, I was impressed with how you took on some of the targets in your air exam. That is one way we look for promising recruits."

"So, I wouldn't get a say on who I get to marry," Danny asked upset.

"You will be paired with a Trio, under a trial period. If you do not work well together during your trial period, then we will select a different Trio. Think of it like a marriage interview, except you will get more time to learn about them than you would in a couple of hour long meetings with your parents present."

Danny had forgotten for a second that that's how marriages were arranged here. Looking up he asked, "What happens if I refuse."

"We will ask that you not say anything about anything we told you here. Then we will follow up with decisive action, should we discover you have said anything. You will go back to being a student, get an apprenticeship with someone less talented than Basalt. After that would be up to you. We would also have to ask that you not use mana manipulation, especially in view of others. As you guessed, people would not understand. Others would believe your unique ability to unlock your mana could be easily duplicated. They would quit testing their sons for mana and our country, weak, would fall to the other races. Those with your abilities in the past have tried and failed to help unlock another's mana. One person cannot affect another's mana directly."

"I will be allowed to use mana manipulation if I agree to work with you. What if our work has me needing to use it in front of others," Danny asked.

"We have the people and resources needed to cover up any issues that arise. Most people won't recognize what you’re doing when you use mana manipulation. If you were to reject our offers and be caught, you would not be able to keep it under wraps for long. Just like how the attendee at the training facility discovered you."

Danny wanted more time to think, but he guessed this was a onetime offer. If he accepts, and he gets to become stronger, stronger than he would by himself. The acceptance will come at the cost of a loss freedom. He declines and he could end up being a great wizard, but he would be stuck using spells. Exchanging one prison for another. There was the option to try his luck with the other races. The beastmen were probably not an option, too much animosity. The dwarves sounded unfriendly and reclusive. The elves might take him in... He doubted the Diadem government would let someone as potentially powerful as him just up and leave...

Danny looked around the room in thought. Finally he turned towards the Archwizard, "I accept."

The Archwizard smiled, while he reached out and shook Danny's hand, "Excellent! Welcome aboard. Now let's begin with introductions." Turning to indicate the two women. "As you will be traveling with Wizard Basalt, you will also be traveling with these two ladies and the other member of their Trio. Danny, this is Brianna and Wren Basalt."

Danny smiled and exchanged pleasantries with the two women, who just earlier, had almost cut him into pieces.

The one introduced as Wren said, "Our husband would not shut up about your exam performance."

Chuckling Brianna added, "Yes, even after we threatened to kick him out of the house unless he stopped. It's good to know you wanted to apprentice under him."

Danny had worried they would keep on those emotionless masks all the time. Embolden by their sudden friendliness, Danny jokingly said, "I'm glad you two will be coming along. Wizard Basalt is very powerful and I can imagine he can be quite a handful."

Both the women smiled knowingly and Brianna added, "Our husband tends to act that way when he is not on a mission. He says it helps him unwind."

Wren just rolled her eyes.

Danny looked over to see the Archwizard drinking tea and smiling at their affableness together. Setting his tea down, the Archwizard said, "Let's go meet up with everyone else."

After grabbing Danny's things from his room, he was quickly led out of the wizard’s academy. He wanted to say goodbye to his friends but was told they didn't have the time. He decided that he would send those letters explaining his sudden departure.

They led him to an expensive looking restaurant near the city arena. The area was busy with shoppers and people traveling between the areas of the city. Danny had only ever bought food at the food stands at the market within the outer wall, so he was excited to see what it was like. As they walked in a woman appeared from the side and directed them towards a hallway in the back. The restaurant was evidently popular and the Archwizard waved to a few other wizards and women that Danny guessed were influential in the city.

They were led into a private room. The walls of were lined with mirrors and a large table was laid out with dishes of delicious smelling foods. Danny started to sit down when Wren grabbed the collar of his vest and hauled him back up to keep walking with them. Danny pilfered a roll from the table and looked back to see the woman who led them in waiting at the door they entered. The door was closed and she was leaning back against it.

Brianna reached up next to one of the mirrors on the back wall and fiddled with something Danny couldn't see. The mirror swung inward and they kept walking down a flight of stairs. They eventually reached a corridor guarded by a woman dressed nondescript, like Brianna and Wren. The woman silently nodded to them and they continued on their way. The corridor was long and they walked for quite a while. Danny thought he heard the Archwizard grumble something about old men and long distances. They eventually turned a corner and a doorway opened up into a large cavernous space. The majority of it looked natural. Danny realized the corridor must have been sloped downward and he never noticed. In the distance he could see other doorways cut into the walls. The space was illuminated by numerous light crystals. Danny could see at least a hundred people either standing around talking, moving, or performing some sort of martial arts training.

His group moved towards two people talking by the people training, one Danny recognized. The Archwizard called out, "Wizard Basalt! There you are, I have brought your future apprentice and our newest member."

Wizard Basalt turned to them with a huge grin, "Storm, you brought him, good! I was hoping to get a new apprentice. My last one kept getting lost and I got tired of searching for him. I heard a rumor he decided to become an elf!" The large man laughed putting a hand on his stomach.

"Basalt, don't scare the boy before we can see what he is really capable of," the Archwizard admonished him. "Now come walk with me so that I can catch you up on some recent developments. Danny, you meet the other member of the Basalt family while I update their husband."

Danny watched them leave.

"So, is this him," asked the new woman while smiling at Danny. She looked noble, much like the other two women, except she had dark blonde hair instead of straight black.

Brianna introduced the other woman to him, "Danny, this is the other member of our Trio, Arya."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Danny said politely as the woman nodded to him.

Arya looked at the other two asking, "Is he what we've been looking for?"

Brianna nodded while looking around, saying, "Yes, the Archwizard said he didn't have three like we were told, he had five. He also is a sorcerer."

Danny wasn't sure how he felt about being discussed when he was standing right there. He frowned, then again he was only seven and a half.

Arya looked impressed at what Brianna said, and turned to Wren, "What about you?"

Wren just nodded.

Arya let out a puff of air, "Alright, I will talk with Umbra."

Arya left towards one of the doorways. Before Danny could ask any questions the other two women engaged Danny in conversation, asking about his family and academy. The two wizards returned and Basalt came over to Danny shaking his hand, which shook Danny's whole body.

"My new apprentice, I can't wait to begin once you are done here! Train as hard as you can so we can begin the real fun!"

Danny rubbed his hand saying, "Yes, Wizard. As much fun as one can have while endangering one's life."

"Oh, come on now boy, death is always waiting around the corner. It's more fun to go find him and kick him in the shin when he's not looking!" The man laugh echoed around the cavern. The instructor training the group in martial arts looked over annoyed at the disturbance. Now that Danny could see them, they were mostly girls with a few older boys thrown in here and there.

Arya appeared at that moment and didn't look happy with her husband. Pulling down on his ear like a child, the large wizard winced in pain. "With all your noise, you will bring the whole cavern down on us, and then who will be around to laugh at your 'jokes'? Come on everyone Umbra will see us."

They all moved towards the door Arya came out of. It lead to another long corridor.

"Who is this Umbra," Danny finally got to ask.

Brianna turned to him and answered, "She is the head of our order. She is the third daughter of the Diadem family. Anyone you meet here, that is not a wizard, is a third daughter of their noble family. All noble families are required to contribute a child this way."

Danny was shocked to hear this and wanted to go back. More nobles...

Brianna continued, "Our order assigns Trios based on who works well together. Then later the Trio is paired with a promising wizard selected from the academy. Here station and political maneuverings are not important. What is important, is how well they all work as a team. Our nation faces many threats and these teams are able to turn the tide of battles."

Danny asked, "Are we officially part of the military?"

Brianna replied, "No, but they are aware of our presence and will follow our orders. If anyone else asks you are part of the family you are married to."

The corridor they had been traveling down ended at a door with alcoves on either side. As he passed, Danny noticed they were occupied with guards. They walked into a room with a large table in the middle. The table had a map in the middle with small figurines placed all over it. As he watched a woman walked over and moved one around. There were desks along the walls with people working. Danny recognized men in dusters here and there working alongside the women in the room. They continued to the back of the room, through a pair of doors, and into what looked like a conference room. At a long table sat a woman Danny figured was around the Archwizard’s age. She had a serious air to her.

"Come in and sit down. The others should be with us shortly. Adept Creek, please come sit down here next to me," the woman patted the table to her right.

They all sat down with Danny and the wizards on one side and the Basalt Trio on the other.

"Adept Creek, I am the leader of this order. You may refer to me as Umbra. Archwizard Storm, as you might have guessed, is in charge of identifying and overseeing the development of any young wizards that join our group." Umbra turned toward the Archwizard who sat on the other side of Danny and asked, "Now, I am told Adept Creek has even more potential than we previously thought?"

Clearing his throat the Archwizard replied, "Yes, not only is he a Pentacle, but he is a sorcerer who unlocked his magic at a young age, which allows him to use mana manipulation."

Umbra asked, "What is mana manipulation?"

"Mana manipulation is the natural form of using magic. Spells were developed later to create an easy method of casting known configurations with the elements." Looking around the Archwizard turned to Danny, "Here, Danny, please give her an example. Can you cast raised earth on the wall over there, in a cube, then create a similar sized creation of your own design next to it?"

Nodding, Danny turned toward the stone wall right behind himself. He cast mana sight and started dual casting. Charging raised earth with his right hand, with the other, Danny sent a stream of mana out toward the same wall, just far enough away where the two wouldn't interfere with each other. Once the mana stream reached the wall he caused it to spiral and taper off so it wouldn't be too heavy on the end furthest from the wall. Then he cast the earth rune and let go his connection with his left hand. At the same time he cast with his right.

As a perfect cube of mana jutted out from the wall, a spiraling stone form emerged next to it. Arya's eyes widened, while Brianna and Wren just looked impressed. Danny heard Wizard Basalt laughing down the table. Umbra looked shocked for a second before getting up and approaching the two shapes. "This is remarkable, can you do this Storm?"

"No, Umbra."

"Is there anything else I should know," Umbra said absently, sitting back in her chair.

"Yes, while the boy has a low rate of mana regeneration and flow, this will increase with time. I would recommend his training here continue until his rates increase enough to be affective in battle. Also, I would like to also point out that he has gained access to the nature elemental affinity."

"Really, when did you find this out," Umbra demanded.

"Just before we came, Adept Creek grew an apple tree for us near the tower."

Umbra nodded.

Danny chose this point to speak up, "I also have access to storm affinity."

The Archwizard stuttered saying, "That's not funny, Danny," and looked crossly at him.

Danny held up his hand pushing mana at the top of the ceiling. He cast the storm rune.

The Archwizard’s face went from annoyance to shock and clouds tried to from as the air pressure dropped. Nothing actually formed but the Archwizard knew Danny wasn't bluffing. Danny canceled the magic now that he could see the Archwizard believed him.

Seeing the Archwizard’s pale face, Umbra laughed softly, "Adept Creek, is there anything else you wish to share? Part of me hopes not, as our esteemed Archwizard here might not survive it."

"No Umbra, I have nothing else to share."

Danny looked back over at the Archwizard to find him staring at Danny sadly. The older man finally said, "It took me most of my life for my affinities to be high enough to gain that affinity, and you... you’re..." The Archwizard was too befuddled to continue.

About that time the door opened and three girls walked into the room and stood quietly by the door.

Umbra noticed them and said, "Shadow Basalt and Archwizard, would you please excuse us?"

The five adults, on the sides of the table, quietly got up and left the room. Umbra motioned for the three girls by the door to sit down on the other side from Danny.

Once they were seated, Umbra began, "Jade, Ivy, and Brooke. I would like to introduce you to the potential final member of your future shadow, Adept Danny Creek."

The three girls nodded as she said their names. Danny suddenly got quite nervous as they all turned to look intently at him. Jade was a tall and gangly girl with dark blonde hair with bright green eyes. Danny thought she looked familiar but was sure he would remember those eyes. Ivy was a petite girl with dark hair and brown eyes. Danny knew she could easily be a child model in his former world. Brooke was a large girl with blonde haired girl with brown eyes. Once again she looked familiar as well. Danny had perfect memory so he most know someone related to them. Danny guessed them all to be slightly older than his seven years.

Turning and looking at Danny, Umbra said, "From this moment forward, you are no longer a Creek. You are Adept Danny until such time as your shadow becomes official and is given a name. This will then become your family name. You are not from one of the noble houses and might not know this. Only the first two daughters can claim the name of a noble family. The rest must join another family as part of a Trio. This is why many noble families do not have more than three daughters. It is frowned upon for noble families to not produce a third daughter to give to our order.

Ivy is the leader of your group, she will be in charge. Ivy will also be the Strike, she will also attack on the front line or retreat to fire from range at opportune moments. Brooke is the Guard, she is the one who will be on the front line. Jade is the Reach, she will attack from range or scout ahead for threats. Now normally we don't select wizards for this training until they are older so you four will be a bit of an experiment. Do you have any questions, Danny?"

"What will my positions be called," Danny asked.

Umbra blinked and looked at him strangely, "Wizard, of course."

"Oh, right... wizard." Danny suddenly wanted to pull the stone floor around him in a safe cocoon, where he couldn't be embarrassed.

"Any further questions?"

"No, Umbra."

"Good, I will allow you to have supper here in this room. That should come shortly. I will leave you, so you four can get to know each other a little better." Looking at both sides of the table she continued in a less formal tone, "I really hope this arrangement works out as you are some of the best your generation has to offer. Your team has potential we haven't seen in a long time."

With that, Umbra stood up and left the room.

There was silence for but a few moments but it seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Right when Danny had built up the nerve to say something, Ivy spoke up.

"Danny, I want to welcome you to our group. I hope we can come to work well with each other. If you don't mind, could you tell us a little about your family?"

With this said, Ivy smiled and Danny realized this girl wasn't just beautiful. She knew how to use it to get what she wanted from others. Danny pictured warning lights flashing in his brain. Wasn't she too young to know how to do that? Danny tried to think back to when he was this age, what would it have been, elementary school? He needed to tread carefully here.

"Sure, I grew in the middle of the outer wall area. My mother is a leather crafter and my father helped in my families shop. The head of my family is a merchant, and the other member of my mother's Trio is a blacksmith. I have two older sisters, an older non-wizard brother, and a younger sister."

Ivy smiled at him and was about to ask another question when a woman pushed in a trolley with plates of food. She quickly doled out the plates and utensils. She also brought out a pot of steaming tea and cups. After receiving thanks from the four youngsters she left.

Ivy got up from there side of the table and came over to sit by Creek, explaining, "There, it looked odd us all sitting one side of the table."

"So, could I know more about your families," Danny asked as Ivy sat down.

Ivy looked at the others before speaking first, "My family is in leadership roles in the Diadem government. My father was a wizard. I of course have two older sisters, two younger brothers, and four younger sisters."

Brooke spoke up next with a big grin on her face, "My family, Peak, is also in leadership..."

At the mention of her family name, Danny almost spit out his tea he had chosen to sip at that moment. Brooke noticed this and gave him a very familiar glare.

Groaning internally at this situation, Danny said, "I met your brother at the academy."

Brooke nodded, as if that was enough information for a justification and continued, "We also have a number of businesses that include the buying and selling of elemental crystals from the dwarves. My father is a fire wizard and aids our smithies. There's my two older sisters, you unfortunately met my younger brother, and I have two younger sisters.

Jade smiled shyly and said, "You have met my aunts and uncle, the Basalts."

Danny had his tea away from his face so he was prepared to smile and nodded for her to continue.

Jade continued, "My family, Bramble, has leadership roles as well. The family business is financing and investments throughout the country. Then there is just my sister's and I."

Brooke spoke up next excitedly, "So what kinds of magic can you do!"

Ivy looked annoyed at her outburst, but Danny just laughed.

"I have all the five elements, plus nature and storm magic."

The smile left Brooke's face as silence reigned throughout the room.

Ivy was the first to recover, "Wow, that's amazing. Umbra said you were an adept."

"Yes, I just started at the academy last spring, and only recently went for my stone and air exams. I didn't want to get in over my head if they were too difficult."

Ivy looked at him shrewdly and asked, "Where they difficult?"

"Oh yeah, I wasn't sure if I had the air exam beat or not."

Ivy nodded, seeming pleased with his response.

Danny asked a question that had been bugging him, "So how old are you all? I am seven and a half."

Brooke said, "I'm nine."

Jade said, "Nine."

Ivy said, "I'm ten."

Danny was shocked, he thought Ivy was the youngest. Brooke he had pegged about right, but was left wondering how tall Jade was going to get. Danny had thought Jade was the oldest, with her height.

Ivey looked at everyone and suggested, "Looks like everyone's done, so I suggest we adjourn for the night. We will have time later to talk."

Danny looked at Ivy wondering how old this girl really was. Brooke and Jade acted about the right age, but Ivy was like a little adult. Maybe she had increased intelligence like he did. Could that be why no one questioned the way he spoke... Maturity has some effects on the way one speaks. For Ivy it must be burdens of leadership, he guessed.

As they were all walking out of the room, a women he guessed was in her fifties stopped talking to a desk worker and walked their way. Danny recognized her from earlier in the cavern. She reached them and greeted the girls before turning to Danny.

"Hello, Danny, I am instructor Meadow. I will be teaching you not to get killed when the other members are too distracted to watch your back. Do you have any skills in weapons?"

"I have two levels in unarmed and one in staves."

"Good, we can use that. With your spells, you wizards don't need much ranged weapon training. I usually start teaching a single handed weapon to new wizards, but the staff is a good weapon too. Should keep you alive till the others can come save you.

I will take you to the boy’s dorm and your new room. We have a bell system like the academy. Follow the other boys to breakfast and then be out in the training area with your team as soon as possible."

"Should I wear my academy uniform?"

"You will be given a new uniform to wear and anything else you will need can be provided by the dorm. Are you ready?"

"One more thing, what about my family?"

Instructor Meadow looked ready to go but paused with this new question. "Look, you can't go see them until your training here is over. Then before you start your 'apprenticeship' with Wizard Basalt. Someone from the order will get in touch with them shortly."

"How long is my training here supposed to take?"

"That depends on you..."

Danny didn't like that answer, but figured he didn't want to know the real answer. Danny turned to see the three girls still standing there. Danny said his goodnights to them and followed instructor Meadow.